Bucs' Ndamukong Suh Says His Job vs. Packers Was 'To Piss Aaron Rodgers Off'

Jenna CiccotelliAnalyst IFebruary 23, 2021

FILE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Ndamukong Suh (93) talks with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the second half of an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., in this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, file photo. Rodgers had his worst game of the season in Green Bayâ€™s 38-10 loss at Tampa Bay Back on Oct. 18, as he threw two game-changing interceptions and completed less than half his pass attempts. Rodgers gets a chance to make amends for that performance Sunday when the top-seeded Packers host the Bucs in the NFC championship game. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes, File)

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had one focus in the two games he played against the Green Bay Packers this season.

"My job was to piss [Aaron Rodgers] off and win that game," he said, appearing on Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast. "... At the end of the day, I'm going to always want to piss off Aaron and make him not want to be my friend on the football field."

Club Shay Shay @ClubShayShay
“My job was to piss Aaron Rodgers off and win that game. At the end of the day, I’m going to always want to piss off Aaron and make him not want to be my friend on the football field.” — @NdamukongSuh on facing Rodgers this year https://t.co/LaAfJViQsG

After a chippy regular-season game, the pair met again in the NFC Championship, where Suh and the Bucs overpowered the Packers en route to a Super Bowl championship.

Rodgers said after the Bucs' 38-10 regular-season victory in October that he was hoping to talk with Suh following the game, but the pair didn't find each other. In the game, Suh was whistled for roughing the passer before he sacked Rodgers amidst a back-and-forth verbal battle between the pair.

The bad blood goes back years, with the highlight coming when Suh was suspended one game after he allegedly stepped on Rodgers' ankle. His punishment was changed over to a $70,000 fine when he explained he was too cold to realize where he was stepping.

"I was looking forward to that conversation," Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show in October. "I didn't know how it was going to go. I didn't think it was going, like, look, I'm not going to fight Ndamukong Suh. ... After all these years playing together, we've never had that conversation off the field. I think it would be interesting."

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Suh defended his absence from a post-game conversation on Sharpe's podcast, saying that he was focused on his usual recovery process, but he said he asked Tom Brady to pass along a message to Rodgers. Suh said he later reached out to Rodgers and the pair "exchanged some messages."

For all the on-field drama, Suh seemed to reach out a hand for Rodgers. He said he would be "open to definitely connect" in the future, and the pair agreed to do so following the NFC Championship.